Best High-Calorie Survival Foods

When you’re storing food for short or long-term survival, it’s important to choose the most efficient, caloric foods. Calories are the currency of food’s ability to sustain you, and the more calories in a food, the longer it will give you crucial energy.

Here is a list of some of the most caloric foods that can be stored for long periods of times:

Nuts and seeds

Nuts and seeds such as walnuts, almonds, pecans, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds, are both highly caloric and nutritious. They will keep for long periods of time when stored properly, but take care to do so as they will go rancid otherwise. We’ll do a follow-up post on the best ways to do this, but you need to make sure they are fully dried, and stored in an airtight container, in a dark, cool place.

Quinoa

Quinoa is both high-protein and high-calorie. It is both hearty and delicious, and while not considered a grain, it stores as easily as one. It’s also a great option for gluten-free folks.

Dried fruit

Dried fruits, particularly raisins and dried cherries, are incredibly caloric and can keep for long periods of time when stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. 1/4 of a cup of raisins has a whopping 150 calories, making them a great option for quick, easy energy that’s light and compact. As for cherries, they are even more caloric, but sometimes, those calories can come from added sugar. The sugar does act as a preservative, though, and will certainly sustain you if you need, so you still might want to consider sweetened cherries for your survival stash. They are of course, also available without added sugar, but you might have to search at health food stores or online.

Fat

Fats like oils, lard, and tallow, will keep for a long period of time when stored correctly and are a really easy way to add fat and calories to frugal survival basics like rice and beans. 1 tablespoon of fat typically has something between 150-300 calories, which is huge. Healthy fats are far better than vegetable and soy oil, though, so opt for coconut, olive, or avocado oil, or homemade rendered tallow or lard.

Brown Rice

A staple of many survival pantries, brown rice has great nutrients, and the brown husk actually makes it more caloric than white rice. Brown rice is cheap, but it doesn’t store as well as white rice, so if you’re relying on it as a staple, make sure you’re cycling it out regularly so it doesn’t go rancid before you need it.

These are some of the most caloric survival foods you can get. Be sure to let us know if we missed something and we’ll cover it on an upcoming post!

If you are interested in learning more about nutrient-dense survival food, we suggest looking into Pemmican. Click the link below to learn how to make it, and in no time you’ll have yourself a hearty ration of all you’ll need to keep yourself and your family alive.